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December 16, 2013

October 2013 - Current affairs for Civil Service Exams

The Gambia is on 2 October decided to withdraw from the Commonwealth, 48 years
after joining. Gambian, a West African country joined the Commonwealth of
Nations in 1965.The last country to be withdrawn from the Commonwealth group
was Zimbabwe in 2003.The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of
54 countries, many of them former territories of the British Empire. It was
established in 1949.

China and EU
Signed Bilateral Currency Swap Agreement

China and the European Union signed a 350 billion yuan (45 billion euro)
currency swap agreement on 10 October.The agreement signed between the People’s
Bank of China and the European Central Bank (ECB), aims to support bilateral
trade and protect financial stability.

US and Vietnam
Signed Nuclear Trade Agreement

The US and Vietnam have on 10 October signed a agreement on civilian nuclear
power that will allow american firms in to the market and commits the
vietnamese to not producing ingredients for aotmic weapons.U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry and his vietnamese counterpart signed the “123 agreement ” at
the East Asian Summit in Brunei .

Mulatu Teshome
Elected New President of Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s parliament on 7 October elected Mulatu Teshome as the country’s new
president for a six-year term. Mulatu Teshome will replace Girma Wolde Giorgis,
who first took the post in 2001 and was re-elected in 2007.Mulatu Teshome was
elected at a joint session of the House of Peoples Representatives (HPR) and
the House of Federation (HoF). Mulatu Teshome is the Fourth president of
Ethiopia.

Five New Members
Elected To UN Security Council

The UN General Assembly on 18 October elected Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria
and Saudi Arabia to a two-year term in the UN Security Council.Saudi Arabia
rejected its seat on the United Nations Security Council because of the failure
of the international community to end the war in Syria and act on other Middle
East issues.The New Council members will replace Azerbaijan, Guatemala,
Morocco, Pakistan and Togo.The new members will assume their posts on 1 January
2014 and serve through the end of 2015.The 15 Members of the Security
Council has five veto-wielding permanent members — the United States, Britain,
France, Russia, and China — and 10 nonpermanent members.

Social Democratic
Party Won Czech Republic Elections

The CSSD Social Democratic Party has won the parliamentary elections held in
the Czech Republic with 20.5 percent of the vote.The office of statistics in
Prague announced on 26 October.Coming in third was the KSCM Communist Party,
with 15 percent, while the the party that was in power until recently, the
liberal Top 09, was left with 11.9 percent.Also finding a place in the 200-seat
parliament was the liberal ODS party, which crashed from 20 percent in 2010 to
7.7 percent this time out.The conservative Christian Democrat KDU-SCL with 6.8
percent, and the new Dawn of Direct Democracy party of the senator and
businessman of Japanese origin, Tomio Okamura, with 6.9 percent.

INDIA & WORLD

India To Reach 160
cr Population By 2050

On 2 October According to the French Institute of Demographic Studies (INED)
survey report, India will be a country of 160 crore population by 2050.Then,
China, currently world No 1 with 130 crore, will become No 2 with 130 crore
people.The total world population is projected to rise to 9.7 billion in 2050
from the current 710 crore.Besides, China and India, currently, the world’s
most populous countries are: the US 31 crore, Indonesia 24.8 crore and Brazil
19.5 crore.According to the report, the projected population of other countries
in the world by 2050 will be :- Nigeria 44 crore, US 40 crore, Indonesia
36 crore, Pakistan 36 crore, Brazil 22 crore, Bangladesh 20 crore, Congo
18crore, Ethiopia 17 crore, Philippines 15 crore, Mexico 15 crore,
Russia 13 crore, Tanzania 12 crore, Egypt 12 crore, Uganda 11crore, Vietnam 10
crore, Iran 9.9 crore, Japan 9.7 crore, Kenya 9.7 crore, Turkey 9.3
crore, Iraq 8 crore, UK 7.9 crore, Germany 7.6 crore, France 7.2 crore.

Bangladesh and
India Inaugurated Joint Power Transmission Plant

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 5
October jointly inaugurated the India-Bangladesh Grid Inter-connection at
Bheramara in Bangladesh.The joint venture was launched through
video-conferencing. The transmission line and the HVDC station in Bheramara
provide a safe and reliable interconnection of the power grids of our two
countries, which will enable supply of 500 MW of power from India to
Bangladesh.Both the Prime Ministers also jointly laid the foundation stone for
1320 megawatt Maitri Thermal Power Project, being developed by Bangladesh-India
friendship power-company which is a joint venture of India’s NTPC and
Bangladesh Power Development Board.

Global Hunger
Index Report 2013

The 2013 Global Hunger Index (GHI), released on 14th October 2013 by the
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Welthungerhilfe, and
Concern Worldwide- revealed that 842 million people were chronically under
nourished across the world.South Asia continued to have the maximum number of
hungry people in the world, followed by sub-Saharan Africa.India has moved from
65 to 63 in the Global Hunger Index, making a marginal improvement since 2012,
but continues to suffering far behind other emerging economies.

Global Slavery
Index – 2013

The Australia-based rights organisation Walk Free Foundation (WFF) on 17
October released its first ‘Global Slavery Index – 2013, ranking 162 countries
on the number of people in slavery and bondage per capita and the absolute
number of slaves.According to the report , About 14 million Indians are living
in conditions of modern-day slavery, nearly half of 30 million across the
world.The ten countries on the list, which follow India (13,956,010) ,
are:- China (2,949,243), Pakistan (2,127,132), Nigeria (701,032),
Ethiopia(651,110),Russia(516,210), Thailand(472,811), Democratic Republic of
Congo (462,327), Myanmar (384,037), and Bangladesh (343,192).Mauritania has the
highest proportion of people in slavery, with many people inheriting slave
status from their ancestors.Haiti came second in the index, with about one in
10 children trapped in an exploitative system of child labor.The survey
revealed that 72 percent of people in modern slavery lived in Asia.The WFF
defines modern slavery as something which includes slavery itself along with
other slavery-like practices such as forced marriage, debt bondage, forced
labour and human trafficking.The Foundation’s estimate of 29.8 million slaves
worldwide is higher than other attempts to quantify modern slavery. The UN
estimates almost 21 million people are victims of forced labour.

India and China
Signed Border Defence Cooperation Agreement

India and China have signed a Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) to
maintain peace and tranquility on the Line of Actual Control.The agreement is
one of the nine MOUs/agreements signed by the two countries on 23 October.The
agreements were signed after the bilateral talks between Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing.The other 8
agreements/Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were :-

(i) MoU on Nalanda University (ii) MOU to Strengthen Cooperation on
Trans-Border Rivers (iii) Cultural Exchange Programme 2013-15 (iv) MoU on
Cooperation in Road Transport and Highways (v) MoU on Power Equipment Service
Centres in India (vi) Agreement between Delhi-Beijing on Establishment of
Sister City Relationship (vii) Agreement between Bengaluru – Chengdu on
Establishment of Sister City Relationship (viii) Agreement between Kolkata – Kunming
on Establishment of Sister City Relationship.

1.3 Million People
Died of Tuberculosis (TB) Worldwide in 2012

The “Global tuberculosis report 2013″ released by World Health
Organization (WHO) on 23 October.According to the report , Tuberculosis (TB)
killed 1.3 million people worldwide in 2012, while India alone accounted for 26
per cent of total TB cases globally.The report found that global TB deaths
decreased to 1.3 million in 2012, which is 100,000 less than the previous
year.Approximately 75 per cent of total TB deaths occurred in the African and
South-East Asia Regions in 2012. India and South Africa accounted for about
one-third of global TB deaths.The report also found that the number of people
ill with TB fell to 8.6 million in 2012.The largest number of incident cases in
2012 were India (2.0 million-2.4 million), China (0.9 million-1.1 million) and
South Africa (0.4 million-0.6 million).The majority of TB cases worldwide in
2012 were in the South-East Asia (29 per cent), African (27 per cent) and
Western Pacific (19 per cent) regions.

Union Cabinet on 2 October decided to withdraw the ordinance on convicted
lawmakers, as well as the Bill that sought to amend the Representation of the
People Act.The Union Cabinet had approved on 24 September 2013.The ordinance,
once promulgated, will allow the convicted MPs or MLAs to continue in office if
their appeal is admitted by a higher court within 90 days of conviction by the
trial court.The Ordinance which sought to negate the Supreme Court order of 10
July 2013 which ruled that any lawmaker would stand immediately disqualified if
convicted by a court.

CCEA approves
Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the Rashtriya Uchchatar
Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) , a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) on 3 October for
reforming the state higher education system.During the 12th Plan period, 80 new
universities would be created by converting autonomous colleges/colleges in a
cluster to State universities. 100 new colleges, including
professional/technical colleges would be set up and 54 existing colleges would
be converted into model degree colleges.In the 12th Plan period, RUSA would
have a financial outlay of 22855 crore Rupees, out of which 16227 crore Rupees
will be borne by the Centre.Apart from this, allocation of 1800 crore Rupees in
the 12th Plan for the existing scheme Sub-Mission polytechnics would also be
subsumed in RUSA.Centre-State funding would be in the ratio of 90:10 for
North-Eastern States, Sikkim, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand
and 65:35 for other States and Union Territories.RUSA will be a new Centrally
Sponsored Scheme spread over two plan periods, for improving access, equity and
quality in the state higher education system.

64,000 Married Men
Commit Suicide Every Year In India

On 3 October According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics
revealed more incidences of suicide by married men than by married women.

Highlights of the Report
:-

* The alleged misuse of section 498 A of IPC is leading to a rise in men’s
suicides in the country.A report of the National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB) has
pointed out that nearly 64,000 men are committing suicide every year due to
this section.

* In 2012 approximately 64,000 married men committed suicide vis-a-vis
32,000 married women.

* As per the Survey , In West Bengal the number of cases under the section has
grown exponentially at the rate of 11 per cent in the last two years but the
conviction rate has dropped to just 4.4 per cent from 6.3 per cent earlier.The
state accounts for 1.06 lakh cases recorded.

Cabinet Approves
National Identification Authority of India Bill

The Union Cabinet on 8 October approved the National Identification Authority
of India Bill that will give statutory status to the Unique Identification
Authority of India (UIDAI).The new law will provide for the creation of a
National Identification Authority of India ,which will oversee implementation
of the Aadhaar project.The bill will give legal backing to Aadhaar, the project
which aspires to give every Indian a uniquely identifiable number based on
biometrics.Besides giving statutory status to the Unique Identification
Authority of India (UIDAI), the Bill seeks to provide legal backing to Aadhaar,
which is used to disburse subsidies.Adhaar is a unique Identification number
issued by UIDAI to individuals for the purpose of establishing unique
identification of every single person. It serves as the proof of identity and
address anywhere in India.Aadhaar is a 12-digit number.

Land Acquisition
Act To Come into effect from 2014 January 1

Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh on 15 October announced the
2013 Land Acquisition Act would come into force on January 1, 2014.The new law
received the assent of the President on 27 September 2013.Rural Development
Minister Jairam Ramesh took the decision after consideration of another view,
particularly from state governments, that the Act replacing a 119-year-old
legislation should be notified from April 1, 2014.

STATES

Gujarat Lokayukta
Aayog Bill 2013 Passed By State Assembly

The Gujarat Lokayukta Aayog Bill 2013 has been passed by state Assembly on 1
October after it was returned by Governor Kamla Beniwal. The Governor had on September
2 returned the Lokayukta Aayog Bill 2013 passed by the Assembly in April, 2013.

Foundation Stone
Laid For First Mega Food Park In Uttar Pradesh

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing, Government of
India Dr. Charan Das Mahant laid the foundation stone on 8 October for
establishment of Shaktiman mega Food Park (the first in the north India) in
Jagdishpur of Amethi district in Uttar Pradesh.The Shaktiman Mega Food Park was
set up with assistance under the programme Scheme of Mega Food Parks.It will be
developed with the assistance of Aditya Birla Group.The Park will have
most-modern infrastructure and facilities for food processing.

President Gave
Assent To Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill

The President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 17 October 2013 gave his assent to
the Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill ,which will bring the chief minister among
others under the ambit of the ombudsman, with a provision of punishment up to
life imprisonment.With this Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill became an Act.The main
objective of the Lokayukta Act was to curb corruption in the Uttarakhand
state.The Bill was unanimously passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly on October
2011.

Assembly Elections
Schedule Announced For Five States

The Election Commission on 4 October announced the schedule for Assembly
Elections to be held in five states, namely Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh and Mizoram will be held between 2013 November 11 and 2013
December 4.The counting of votes will be held for Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh on 8 December 2013.The Election Commission on 23 October
changed the Mizoram assembly election schedule by advancing the polling on
November 25 and postponing the counting by a day to December 9.As per the
Supreme Court direction a ‘None of the Above’ button (the option of rejecting
all candidates) would be provided in electronic voting machines in the
polls.Over 11 crore electorate in all five states.630 Assembly seats in total
in five states.

Five States Election Schedule
as Announced by the Election Commission :-

Himachal Pradesh on 26 October has become the second state after Haryana to
introduce Centre’s National Vocational Qualitative Framework ( NVQF) Scheme.The
scheme has been implemented by the All India Technical Education Council and
the National Skill Development Council. As per the scheme, 70 skill development
councils will be established and each council will be given specific trades.
The scheme was being implemented for students of Class IX to Class XI and every
student has to clear four levels to get the certificate.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on 31 October laid the foundation of
the Statute of Unity-a 182-metre tall statue (World’s largest statue) of
India’s first Home Minister and iron man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 138th
birth anniversary at Sardar Sarovar Dam site in Bharuch district in Gujarat.The
Statue of Unity will be double of the height of the Statue of Liberty (93
metres) in the USA.This Statue , which is being constructed at a cost of Rs.
2,074 crore, will be double of the height of the Statue of Liberty (93 metres)
in the USA.The statue is to be built on an island called Sadhu Bet on the river
Narmada in Gujarat.The ‘Spring Temple Buddha’ statue in China is the closest
rival at a height of 153 metre.

CONFERENCES

23rd ASEAN Summit
Held in Brunei Darussalam

The 23rd ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit was held in
Brunei Darussalam on 9 – 10 October 2013.The theme of the summit is “Our
People, Our Future Together”.The leaders of 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast
Asian Nations) member countries discussed on ways to consolidate these gains to
meet the 2015 target of having an economically integrated, politically cohesive
and socially responsible ASEAN Community and to ensure ASEAN’s place in the
global community of nations by 2015 and beyond.One of the highlights of the
ASEAN Summit in Brunei was the turn-over of the Chairmanship to Myanmar who for
the first time assumes leadership of this regional organisation beginning 1
January 2014.The 10 ASEAN nations are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Laos, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.The Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established in 1967.

AWARDS &
HONOURS

Malala Yousafzai
Won EU’s Sakharov Human Rights Prize 2013

Pakistani schoolgirl and campaigner Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head
by the Taliban, has won the European Union’s (EU) Sakharov human rights prize
2013 on 10 October .In 2012 the award went to detained Iranians, lawyer Nasrin
Sotoudeh and film maker Jafar Panahi, to honour those standing up for a better
Iran.The Sakharov Prize for free speech is awarded by the European Parliament
annually in memory of Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov.Previous
winners include former South African president Nelson Mandela and former UN
secretary-general Kofi Annan.

M.S Swaminathan
Gets ‘ Indira Gandhi National Integration Award ‘

Eminent agricultural scientist Dr. M.S Swaminathan, known as the father of
Green Revolution, on 10 October selected for the Indira Gandhi Award for
National Integration for the year 2012.Previous recipients of the Award are
Aruna Asaf Ali, P N Haksar, M S Subbulakshmi, A P J Abdul Kalam and Shankar
Dayal Sharma and Rajiv Gandhi (posthumously).The Indian national congress, in
its centenary year 1985, instituted an Indira Gandhi award for national
integration to give recognition to outstanding contribution to this cause by
distinguished individuals or institutions.

2013 Nobel Prize
Winners

The Nobel Prize winners of 2013 in the different categories were announced in
the month of October 2013. Nobel Prizes are announced by the Royal Swedish
Academy of Sciences every year in the memory of Alfred Nobel.The categories
were the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the Nobel Prize in Physics, the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry, The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences, The
Nobel Literature Prize and The Nobel Peace Prize.Swedish industrialist,
inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel established the prizes in
1895.The prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and
Peace were first awarded in 1901.The related Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic
Sciences was created in 1968.The prize is awarded on December 10 in Oslo City
Hall each year.The value of each prize is 1.2 million US Dollar.

The Nobel Prize winners of
2013 in the different categories were as follows:-

Medicine :- James Rothman and
Randy Schekman of US as well as German-born Thomas Suedhof won the 2013 Nobel
Prize for Medicine and Physiology .They were awarded for their groundbreaking
work on how the cell organises its transport system. James Rothman, Randy
Schekman and Thomas Suedhof work at the US universities.The three of them
discovered the complex transport system in the human body which makes the
delivery of the life-saving proteins and molecules at right place and right
time. James Rothman, Randy Schekman and Thomas Suedhof work at the Yale
University, University of California and Stanford University respectively.

Physics :- Peter Higgs,
United Kingdom and Francois Englert , Belgium jointly awarded Nobel Prize for
Physics.They were awarded for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that
contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic
particles.Their contribution forms the cornerstone of modern particle
physics.Higgs and Francois Englert discovered a quantum field which is a distribution
of energy, throughout the universe. It is a field with special properties. When
the field is disturbed, waves travel through it. The dimmest possible wave is
called a particle in the field. They called this field as Higgs field. In the
Higgs field particles are called as Higgs Boson.

Chemistry :- Michael Levitt, a
British and US citizen of Stanford University, US-Austrian Martin Karplus of
Strasbourg University and US-Israeli Arieh Warshel of the University of
Southern California share The Nobel Prize in Chemistry.They were awarded Nobel
Prize in Chemistry 2013 for the development of multi scale models for complex
chemical systems.

Literature :- Canada’s Alice
Munro won the Nobel literature prize for her short stories that focus on the
frailties of the human condition, becoming just the 13th woman to win in the
history of the coveted award.The Swedish Academy honoured Munro as a master of
the contemporary short story. She won the Man International Booker Prize in
2009 for a body of work.She won the Giller Prize twice, for The Love of a Good
Woman in 1998 and Runaway in 2004.

Economics :- The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences decided to award The
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for 2013
to Eugene F. Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert J. Shiller for their empirical
analysis of asset prices.The three American Economists awarded for their work
on creating a deeper knowledge of how market prices move.

Peace :- The Nobel Peace
Prize for 2013 has been awarded to the Organisation for the Prevention of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical
weapons.The Hague-based OPCW was founded in 1997 to implement the Chemical
Weapons Convention signed on January 13, 1993.The organisation is presently involved
in destroying Syria’s stockpiles of chemical weapons – the first time the OPCW
has worked in a war zone.This marks the second consecutive year an organisation
has won the prestigious award. Last year’s award went to the European Union.

Eleanor Catton Wins
2013 Man Booker Prize

New Zealand author Eleanor Catton at the age of just 28 years, became the
youngest ever winner of the ‘ 2013 Man Booker Prize ‘ for her novel ” The
Luminaries ” on 15 October at the London’s Guildhall.Her 832-page novel The
Luminaries is the story of 19th-century goldfields, which won 50000 Pound Man
Booker Prize 2013 along with a trophy, and Emmanuel Roman.The Luminaries is
also the longest work to win this prize in the history of 45 years of Man
Booker Prize.The Luminaries is the longest ever book to win this Prize, beating
Hilary Mantel’s 672-page Wolf Hall which received the Man Booker Prize 2009.

Lata Mangeshkar
Honoured With The First ” Yash Chopra Memorial Award”

Legendary singer and Bharat Ratna awardee Lata Mangeshkar has been honoured
with the First Yash Chopra Memorial Award.The Award carries a cash prize of Rs
10 lakhs (One million) and a citation was presented by the Union Union Minister
for Information & Broadcasting Manish Tewari at a star studded function in
Mumbai on 19 October.The award is a tribute to the legendary filmmaker Yash
Chopra on the eve of his first death anniversary.Yash Chopra the memorial award
will be given annually to people in recognition of their outstanding
contribution in the field of art and culture.The Yash Chopra Memorial Award has
been instituted by the TSR Foundation of T. Subbarami Reddy.

Aung Suu Kyi
Received EU ‘ Sakharov ‘ Prize After 23 years

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was on 22 October presented
with the European Union’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought at Strasbourg,
France.She was chosen by the European Parliament in 1990.The Sakharov Prize for
Freedom of Thought announced by the European Parliament in 1990 when she was
under house arrest.The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after
Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, was established in December
1988 by the European Parliament as a means to honour individuals or
organisations who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and
freedom of thought.

SPORTS & GAMES

Sports Ministry
Announced HRD scheme In Sports

Government of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports have revised the
existing ‘Scheme relating to Talent Search & Training’ and renamed it as
‘Scheme of Human Resources Development in Sports’. This was announced by the
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Jitendra Singh on 1 October.The
scheme intends to award fellowships and scholarships, besides providing
financial grants to a number of projects in order to develop one of the top 10
sporting nations in the country.

Mumbai Indians Won
2013 Champions League Twenty-20

Mumbai Indians won the 2013 Champions League Twenty-20 title after defeated
Rajasthan Royals by 33 runs in New Delhi on 6 October.This was the second
Champions League Twenty-20 title for Mumbai Indians.The Mumbai Indians secured
the Champions League Twenty20 title in 2011 after defeated Bangalore Royal
Challengers.Harbhajan Singh gets Man of the Match.Dwayne Smith, in the
meanwhile, was declared Champion of the Series.This was the last T-20 match of
Sachin Tendulkar and Royals skipper Rahul Dravid after they both announced
their retirement from T-20 format.

China Open Tennis Tournament
2013 Winners

Women’s Singles :- Serena Williams
(U.S) won the China Open Tennis Tournament women’s singles title on 6 October
at the National Tennis Stadium in Beijing, China.Williams defeated Jelena
Jankovic of Serbia in the final.It was her 10th title of the year.

Men’s Singles :- Novak Djokovic
(Serbia) won his fourth China Open Men’s Singles title in five years ,after
defeated Rafael Nadal (Spain) in the final.Novak Djokovic won the same
tournament earlier in 2009, 2010 and 2012.

Women’s Doubles :- Sania Mirza won
the China Open tennis doubles title with Cara Black of Zimbabwe on 5 October in
Beijing.They defeated Vera Dushevina of Russia and Arantxa Parra Santonja of
Spain in the final.It is fifth title of the season for Sania Mirza and 19th
overall.

India legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar on 10 October announced his decision
to retire from Test cricket after playing his landmark 200th Test match against
the West Indies in November 2013. Previously, Sachin Tendulkar announced
retirement form one day cricket on 23 December 2012 and from Twenty20 cricket
format on 26 May 2013.The Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut against
arch-rival Pakistan at Karachi in 1989. He is the only batsman to score 100
international centuries — 51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs.His 198 Test appearances
yielded 15,837 runs at an average of 53.86.From his 463 ODI matches, he had,
under his belt, a whopping 18,426 at an average of 44.83.

Virat Kohli
Becomes Fastest Indian To Score Century In ODIs

Virat Kohli has added another feather to his illustrious cap scoring a century
off only 52 deliveries, thus becoming the fastest Indian to score a One-Day
International (ODI) century.This is the seventh fastest century in ODI
cricket.He achieved the feat against Australia in the second ODI at the Sawai
Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on 16 October.Kohli broke Virender Sehwag’s 60-ball
century which was scored against New Zealand at Hamilton in 2009. Kohli’s knock
at Jaipur was punctuated by eight boundaries and seven sixes.

North and South
Zone Declared Joint Winners of Duleep Trophy

North Zone and South Zone were declared joint winners of the Duleep Trophy
2013-14 after the fifth day’s play of the final match was called off due to bad
weather in Kochi on 21 October .Only 10 overs, on the second day on 18 October
were possible in the five-day match as wet ground conditions at the Jawaharlal
Nehru Stadium due to persistent rain played spoilsport.It was the fourth
instance in the history of Duleep Trophy when the title has been shared.

Sebastian Vettel
Wins 4th F1 Title at Indian Grand Prix

German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the Indian Grand Prix on 27 October
at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida ,Uttar Pradesh.He becomes
the youngest ever racer to win Formula one Championship four times in a
row.Mercedes Nico Rosberg (GER) finish second followed by Romain Grosjean (FRA)
of Lotus in third place.Only two drivers before Vettel have won four straight
titles – Juan Manuel Fangio from Argentina and German great Michael Schumacher.
Frenchman Alain Prost is another driver who has won four titles but he did not
win those in a row and Vettel is now youngest quadruple champion at the age
26.At present he is the world champion as he won the Championship in 2010,
2011, 2012 and 2013 .

ECONOMY

Mumbai 72nd Rank
On Global Financial Centre Index

On 1 October Mumbai has slipped six places to 72nd rank, the bottom 10, on the
Global Financial Centre Index (GFCI), while London has retained its top
slot.Mumbai is the only Indian city to find a place on this bi-annual list of
80 financial centres globally and was ranked 66th in its previous edition
published in March this year.In the top-five, London is followed by New York,
Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.Others in the top 10 are: Zurich (6th), Boston
(7th), Geneva (8th), Frankfurt (9th), Seoul (10th).Although New Delhi, the
country’s political hub, was added the GFCI questionnaire recently, it is “yet
to acquire sufficient assessments to be included in the index”.

India Ranks 78th
On Human Capital Index

According to the global Human Capital Index , India has been placed at a low
78th slot on a global Human Capital Index, which ranks countries on the basis
of economic potential of their labour force, while Switzerland has topped the
ranking. According to the list of total 122 countries released on 1 October by
the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF), India has been ranked lower than
three of its BRICS peers — China (43rd), Russia (51st) and Brazil (57th), while
South Africa is placed at 86th place.

India Tops Foreign
Remittances Recipients List

The World Bank report entitled ” Migration and Remittance Flows: Recent Trends
and Outlook-2013-16 ” released on 2 October revealed that India emerged as the
largest recipient of foreign remittances among developing economies in 2013.In
2013 Non-Resident Indians (NRI) sent a record 71 billion Dollars home compared
to 70 billion dollars in 2012. According to a Word Bank report NRIs are
estimated to remit up to 85 billion dollars a year by 2015.India (with an
estimated 71 billion Dollars) continued to top the remittances list in 2012
while China is placed a close second with $66 billion expected migrant
remittances in the same year.The Philippines (26 billion Dollars) got
third place in the list.Globally, the world’s 232 million international
migrants are expected to remit earnings worth 550 billion Dollars in 2013 and
over 700 billion Dollars by 2016.Remittance is the act of transmitting money to
a distant location to fulfill an obligation. International remittances are
transfers of funds by foreign workers—remitters—who are living and working in
other countries typically to their families who are still living in their home
countries.

World Bank cuts
India’s 2013-14 GDP forecast to 4.7%

The World Bank on 16 October slashed India’s economic growth forecast for the
current financial year to 4.7 percent from an earlier projection of 6.1
percent.In April, the World Bank had projected India’s GDP would grow at 6.1
percent in the current financial year and at 6.7 percent the following year.

Four Indians in
Fortune’s List of 50 Most Powerful Women in Business

On 20 October Four Indians led by ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar have made to
Fortune magazine’s global list of top-50 women business leaders, while PepsiCo
chief Indra Nooyi has been ranked second in a similar list for the US.Kochhar
has been ranked fourth, followed by National Stock Exchange chief Chitra
Ramkrishna at 17th, Axis Bank’s Shikha Sharma at 32nd and HSBC’s Naina Lal
Kidwai at 42nd place among the Indians on the international list of most
powerful women in business.Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO of India’s
largest private sector bank, has moved up one position from her fifth position
on the 2012 list, while NSE’s Ramkrishna has made it to the list for the first
time.This list is topped by Brazilian energy giant Petrobras’ CEO, Maria Das
Gracas Foster, followed by Turkish conglomerate Sabanci Holding’s Guler Sabanci
at the second and Australian banking giant Westpac’s CEO Gail Kelly at the
third.

RBI increases Repo
Rate By 25 Basis Points

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 29 October released the Second Quarter
Review of Monetary Policy 2013-14.According the released statement by the RBI,
the Repo rate increased by 25 basis points from 7.5 percent to 7.75 percent.

The highlights of the Second
Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2013-14 :-

India on 7 October test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable
Prithvi-II missile with a strike range of 350 km from Chandipur Integrated test
range in Odisha.India on 8 October successfully test-fired for the second time
Prithvi-II missile from a test range at Chandipur.The surface-to-surface
missile was test fired from a mobile launcher.The Prithvi II missile inducted into
India’s Strategic Forces Command in 2003, the Prithvi II missile is the first
missile to be developed by DRDO under India’s Integrated Guided Missile
Development Program.It is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1000 kg of warheads and
thrusted by liquid propulsion twine engines, uses advanced inertial guidance
system with manoeuvring trajectory.The last user trial of Prithvi-II was
successfully carried out from the same base on 12 August 2013.

Naval Offshore
Patrol Vessel INS ‘ Sunayna ‘ Commissioned

INS Sunayna, the second of the Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel class of ship, was
on 15 October commissioned by Vice Admiral Satish Soni, Flag Officer Commanding
in Chief Southern Naval Command.The ship was designed and built by the public
sector Goa Shipyard.INS Sunayna will strengthen the Indian Navy capability to
safeguard the maritime interests.Two diesel engines propel INS Sunayna and
enables it to achieve speeds in excess of 25 knots. The ship also has an
automatic power management system and is fitted with the latest Navigation,
Communication and Electronic Support Systems.The ship is equipped with the most
advanced communication, navigation and electronic warfare equipment besides a
76-mm SRGM (Super Rapid Gun Mount), and close-in weapon system (CIWS). The vessel
also has the ability to embark an advanced light helicopter (ALH) or a Chetak
search and rescue helicopter.

Scientist
Developed World’s First Fully Bionic Man

In the month of October 2013 Scientists have developed the world’s first robot
human (Bionic man) made entirely of prosthetic parts.The bionic man can walk,
talk and has a beating heart.Bionic man was assembled from prosthetic body
parts and artificial organs donated by laboratories around the world.The bionic
man also has a nearly complete set of artificial organs including an artificial
heart, blood, lungs (and windpipe), pancreas, spleen, kidney and functional
circulatory system.He also sports a cochlear implant, speech recognition and
speech production systems. He lacks a few major organs including liver, stomach
and intestines, which are too complex to replicate in a lab. His brain can
mimic certain functions of the human brain and he has a retinal
prosthesis.Roboticists Rich Walker and Matthew Godden of Shadow Robot Co in
England developed the bionic man.The robot was modeled in some physical aspects
after Bertolt Meyer, a social psychologist at the University of Zurich in
Switzerland, who wears one of the world’s most advanced bionic hands.The total
cost for development of the robot is around 1 million US Dollars.

Chinese Scientists
Developed Bird Flu Vaccine

Chinese scientists announced on 25 October they had successfully developed the
vaccine for the H7N9 bird flu virus.This is the first influenza vaccine ever
developed by Chinese scientists.The vaccine has provided important technical
support to battle the new flu strain, making contribution to the H7N9 flu virus
epidemic control all over the world.

World’s Most
Powerful ‘ MRI ‘ Scanner Developed

Scientists have developed the world’s most powerful MRI scanner – strong enough
to lift a 60 metric tonne battle tank.The imager’s superconducting
electromagnet is designed to produce a field of 11.75 Teslas, making it the
world’s most powerful whole-body scanner. Most standard hospital MRIs produce 1.5
or 3 Teslas.The development of the scanner, known as Imaging of Neuro disease
Using high-field MR And Contrastophores (INUMAC), has been in progress since
2006 and is expected to cost about USD 270 million.

PERSONS IN NEWS

A) APPOINTMENTS

Arundhati
Bhattacharya Takes Charge As First Woman Chief of SBI

Arundhati Bhattacharya on 7 October took over as the new chairperson of the
State Bank of India (SBI). She is the first woman to be appointed to the top
job at the country’s largest lender.She succeeds Pratip Chaudhuri who retired
on 30 September 2013.She will hold the post for a period of three years in this
207-year-old bank.This is the first time that an SBI chief will get a
three-year tenure — the first time that any SBI chairperson is getting
such a fixed term— irrespective of when the person will retire.Bhattacharya is
the bank’s 24th chairperson of State Bank of India (SBI).Earlier, she was
managing director and chief financial officer of SBI.She also holds the
distinction of becoming the first woman managing director of SBI in 2013
August. She joined SBI in 1977 as a probationary officer and has served in
various positions, including head of SBI Capital Markets Ltd, the bank’s
investment banking unit.

Janet Yellen
Nominated as Head of US Federal Reserve Board

US President Barack Obama has on 9 October nominated Federal Reserve Board
vice-chair Janet Yellen to be the next head of the Federal Reserve Board.Janet
Yellen replaced Ben Bernanke as Chair of the Federal Reserve Board.Janet Louise
Yellen took office as Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System on 4 October 2010, for a four-year term.Janet Yellen is the
first woman to lead the Federal Reserve Board and also the first Democrat to
head the Board since 1979.

Pakistan Appoints
Ibne Abbas new Envoy To India

Pakistan has appointed on 9 October Syed Ibne Abbas as its new high
commissioner to India replacing Salman Bashir.Previously Syed Ibne Abbas served
as the Director of Kashmir Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.He also
acted as the Director General of the South Asia division.

Arunendra Kumar
Appointed as new Chairman of Railway Board

The Railways on 16 October appointed acting Chairman of the Railway Board
Arunendra Kumar as the head of the Board.Arunendra Kumar, the Mechanical
Member, was holding additional charge of Chairman, Railway Board (CRB) after
the retirement of Vinay Mittal on June 30.

Air Marshal Arup
Raha Appointed as new IAF Chief

Air Marshal Arup Raha has been appointed on 29 October as the next chief of the
Indian Air Force (IAF).He will take over as the next chief of the Indian Air
Force on December 31, 2013 after the retirement of Air Chief Marshal N A K
Browne.Air Marshal Raha is currently serving as the IAF vice-chief.He
joined IAF in December 1974 in the Fighter Stream.During a career spanning over
39 years, he has held various command, staff and instructional appointments in
the force.He has served as Air Attache at the Indian embassy in Ukraine and
commanded the Central Air Command and the Western Air Command.

B)RESIGNS

Goa Lokayukta
Justice B Sudershan Reddy Resigned

Goa Lokayukta justice B Sudershan Reddy has resigned from his post citing
personal reasons on 17 October.Sudershan Reddy former judge of the Supreme
Court was appointed as the Lokayukta on March, 8, 2013. Mr. Reddy, the first
ever Lokayukta of the state, assumed charge in March 2013.

C)DEATHS

US Thriller Author
Tom Clancy Died

Tom Clancy, the writer known for thrillers, especially The Hunt for Red October
and Patriot Games, died in Baltimore, US on 1 October .He was credited with 17
New York Times bestsellers and had launched into the career of writing with the
help of the then US president Ronald Reagan.Clancy arrived on best-seller lists
in 1984 with “The Hunt for Red October.”Tom Clancy was born on 12 April 1947 in
Baltimore, US.He was an American author who was best known for detailed
espionage as well as military sciences stories set during and after the time
period of the Cold War.

Legendary Singer
Manna Dey Died

Legendary singer Manna Dey has died on 24 October in Bangalore.His original
name was Prabodh Chandra Dey but he was nicknamed Manna.He began his playback
career with the film ‘Tamanna’.He debuted in the film Tamanna in 1942, and went
on to record more than 4000 songs during 1942-2013. The Government of India
honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1971, the Padma Bhushan in 2005 and the
Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2007.

D)VISITORS

Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh Visited Russia

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Visited Russia on 20 – 21 October 2013.During the
visit , Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attended the 14th India-Russia Annual
Summit with President Vladimir Putin at Moscow.They discussed priority areas of
bilateral cooperation and noted common positions on current international and
regional issues.Both nations agreed to expeditiously finalise the General
Framework Agreement and the Techno-Commerical Offer for for Units- 3 & 4 of
the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.India and Russia pitched for implementation
of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) quota reforms latest by January to
give more representation to the emerging economies in the multilateral
institution. India currently has a voting share of 2.44 per cent in the
Washington-based IMF. US has the highest voting share of 17.69 per
cent.Minister Manmohan Singh was conferred an Honorary Doctorate by the
prestigious Moscow State Institute of International Relations.He became the
first Indian to receive an honorary doctorate from the Moscow State Institute
of International Relations.

Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh Visited China

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Visited China from 22 – 24 October
2013.During his three day visit , Manmohan Singh held bilateral talks with
Chinese premier Li Keqiang in Beijing .After the talks , both nations signed a
border defence cooperation agreement and several other agreements to focus on
growth and strengthening of relationship between the two sides.The exchange of
visits by the prime ministers within the same calendar year was the first since
1954. Premier Li Keqiang had visited India in May 2013. India and China agreed
to study the possibility of setting up an economic corridor spanning the two
nations and covering Bangladesh and Myanmar.

E)MISCELLANEOUS

‘ Google ‘ Tops
World’s Best Multinational Work Places List

According to the human resources consultancy ‘Great Place to Work Institute’
latest survey , Internet giant Google has emerged as the world’s best
multinational company to work for, followed by software developer SAS Institute
and network storage provider NetApp in the second and third place,
respectively.Software giant Microsoft was ranked fourth.There is no India-based
company in this list and all 25 firms are either American or European.

Indian-American
Emily Shah Crowned ‘ Miss New Jersey USA 2014 ‘ Title

Eighteen-year-old Indian-American Emily Shah has won Miss New Jersey USA 2014
title.Emily Shah, a resident of Edison, home to a large Indian-American
community, was crowned on 20 October at a glittering ceremony in Parsippani , a
small hill township in the state.Emily Shah would now compete for Miss America
and Miss Universe titles.

PLACES
IN NEWS

Archaeologists
Discovered 3,300-year-old Ancient City In Iran

Archaeologists on 2 October have discovered an ancient city called ‘Idu ‘, that
thrived between 3,300 and 2,900 years ago, hidden beneath a mound in the
Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.Located in a valley on the northern bank of
the lower Zab River, the remains of the city Idu, are now part of a mound
created by human occupation called a tell, which rises about 32 feet above the
surrounding plain.

World’s Largest
Hindu Temple To Come Up In Bihar

The world’s largest Hindu temple named ” Virat Angkor Wat Ram Mandir ” with a
towering height of 405 feet , will be built in Bihar.The proposed Virat Ramayan
Mandir, at Janki Nagar near Kesaria in West Champaran district, about 125 km
from Patna, will stand almost double the height of world-famous 12th century Angkor
Wat temple complex in Cambodia, which is 215 feet high.The temple is to be
built at a cost of over Rs.500 crore.

ABBREVIATIONS

BPCL - Bharat Petroleum Corporation
Limited

AAA - Asian Athletics Association

CITU - Centre of Indian Trade Unions

EVM - Electronic Voting Machine

ERDA - Energy Research and Development Administration

FEMA - Foreign Exchange Management Act

GFCI - Global Financial Centres Index

GIC - General Insurance Corporation

MNC - Multi National Corporation

NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

OPEC - Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries

WEF - World Economic Forum

BOOKS IN NEWS

Autobiography of
Malala Yousafzai entitled ‘ I am Malala ‘ Released

The autobiography of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot by
the Taliban for supporting girls’ education released on 8 October in
London.Malala Yousafzai’s story is detailed in I Am Malala: The Girl Who
Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban, co-written with British
journalist Christina Lamb, and tells of the day two Taliban gunmen boarded her
school bus on 9 October 2012, and shot her in the head.The autobiography talks
about Yousafzai’s life as an activist under the Taliban’s brutal rule in
northwestern Pakistan in the mid-2000s, when the group banned female education
and bombed local schools.

COMMITTEES

Mukul Mudgal
Committee Submitted Report on Cinematograph Act

The Empowered Committee headed by Mukul Mudgal, retired Chief Justice of Punjab
and Haryana High Court submitted its report on 9 October to Information and
Broadcasting Minister, Government of India.The committee was appointed to
examine issues of certification under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and give
recommendations.The committee was constituted by the Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting on 4 February 2013.The committee revisited major areas of
concern and has made key recommendations on issues such as: Advisory Panels;
Guidelines for certification and issues such as portrayal of women, obscenity
and communal disharmony; Classification of Films; Treatment of Piracy;
Jurisdiction of the Appellate Tribunal; and Review of the provisions of the
Cinematograph Act, 1952.Apart from giving its recommendations, the committee
has also proposed a draft Cinematograph Bill.

Kirit Parikh committee on advising Pricing Methodology for Diesel, Domestic LPG
and PDS Kerosene submitted report to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry on
30 October.The committee in its report recommended a price increase of 5 Rupees
per litre in diesel, 4 Rupees per litre in kerosene, and 250 Rupees in LPG
cylinder with immediate effect.The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on 12
June 2013 constituted an Expert Group to advice on Pricing Methodology for
Diesel, Domestic LPG and PDS Kerosene.The panel was headed by planning
commission member Dr. Kirit S. Parikh.

IMPORTANT DAYS AND
DATES

United Nations Day
Observed Across the World on 24 October

The United Nations Day was observed across the world on 24 October 2013. The UN
Day is observed to mark the anniversary of entry into force in 1945 of the UN
Charter. The founding document was ratified on this day by its signatories,
including the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
With this, the United Nations came into being officially. 24 October is
celebrated and observed as the UN day since the year 1948. In the year 1971,
the UN General Assembly recommended that this day should be observed as the
public holiday by the Member States.

World Food Day
Observed Every Year on 16 October

World Food Day celebrated on 16 October every year across the world since 1981.
The main objective of the World Food Day is to strengthen national and
international solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and
poverty and draw attention to achievements in food security and agricultural
development.The Theme of the World Food Day 2013 is Sustainable Food Systems
for Food Security and Nutrition.